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| PMRP: Delhi Babus to ask today, what happened to money? | | Ahead of PM’s visit, Central team to review his Rs 30,000 Cr project launched in 2004 | |
ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
Jammu, Oct 4: Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s impending visit to Jammu and Kashmir later this month, the Union Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar along with a battery of officers drawn from as many as 17 central ministries is reaching Srinagar tomorrow but the state government has very little to explain as what it did with Rs 30,000 Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme (PMRP) funds.
That tops agenda of Chandraskehar’s team is discussion with civil society stake holders and the state government officers on sector-wise performance on the PMRP which was announced by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during UPA-I regime in November 2004. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Even as the people of this state have been fancies by the development slogans in past few years but in August this year the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather took everyone by surprise by a startling disclosure: “Only Rs 6000 Crore out of Rs 30000 Crore plan have so far been spent”, they informed the Legislative Assembly at different occasions. This figure is coming out at a time when the specified period of spending Rs 30000 Crore PMRP funds have already elapsed and the state is pleading before the Center for extension.
It may come as a shock to the readers that there are schemes where spending is till at zero level. Rs 634 Crore Srinagar-Leh power transmission line project is yet to take off and same is the case with Rs 49 Crore project for buildings of 10 new Colleges. The greater Jammu and greater Srinagar sewerage project costing Rs 1470 Cr and Rs 1741 Crore, respectively, is also yet to take off. There are only two projects where spending has been hundred percent: Rs 630 Crore APA for Baglihar project and Rs 119 Crore approach road for Sawalakote project.
This slow pace of work will be hard to explain for the state government officials even though they have chance to pass the buck to previous government.
The team, comprising secretaries from 17 ministries, will hold a discussion with various citizen groups in the State besides various commissioner-secretaries to review the Rs 30,000 crore Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan and will also review ongoing projects, official sources said today.
During their two-day visit, the secretaries will also interact with the state bureaucracy on measures to effectively utilise funds and address the discontent among locals over development projects.
The team, which is likely to include secretaries from Home, Labour and Employment, Rural Development, Planning Commission, Tourism, Urban Development ministries, will review the ongoing schemes funded by the Union Government, the sources said.
The Centre had approved Rs 6,500 crore for the state for the fiscal 2009-10, which is a 40 per cent hike from the previous year. The increase comes following Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s meeting with the Prime Minister during which he sought special consideration and extra funds for development projects.
In addition to the state plan, the Centre has also doubled the funds for PM’s Reconstruction Plan from Rs 1,012 crore to Rs 30,000 crore for the current fiscal.
FAILED RECONSTRUCTION
• PM Manmohan Singh announced ambitious J&K reconstruction plan in Nov 2004
• Plan originally conveyed for Rs 23321.47 Cr
• Later revised and approved at Rs 29954.85 Cr
• Specified period lapsed earlier this year
• CM confirmed in August that over 80% funds still unspent
• Govt lobbying with Center for extension
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